Following UVa’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament last month, the Cavaliers’ roster seemingly got smaller by the day. The Wahoos were already set to lose Kihei Clark, Ben Vander Plas and Jayden Gardner, who were all out of eligibility. Then came the other defections and exits. Isaac Traudt entered the portal, opting to play closer to home at Creighton. Francisco Caffaro also opted for a fresh start, recently committing to play at Santa Clara. Kadin Shedrick is headed elsewhere too, with planned visits to Texas, Missouri, Duke and others. UVa also lost Armaan Franklin, who opted to begin his professional career despite having a year of eligibility remaining.

With all of those departures and another starter potentially going pro early if Reece Beekman decides to stay in the draft, Tony Bennett and Co. needed to get aggressive in the portal.

In the last week, of course, that pursuit has come to fruition as the Cavaliers have landed a pair of impact transfers that will be part of a UVa team that looks far different than the one we saw in 2022-23.

The addition of Jordan Minor to the UVa program was, well, major.

Considering what the Hoos lost in the frontcourt, adding a big man that could come in and play right away and do a number of critical things was pivotal. He averaged 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game at Merrimack, which won the Northeastern Conference but was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament amid the transition up from Division II. Minor was the NEC Co-Player of the Year and its Defensive Player of the Year, which speaks to his ability to get it done on both ends of the floor.

At 6-foot-8, Minor is big enough to score around the rim and hold his own with other bigs but he also moves well and can get shots off the bounce. He’s a springy guy who moves well, traits that should help him transition to the pack-line and be able to contribute on the defensive end. Minor has rim-protector upside, especially against opponents with smaller lineups. As a fourth-year at Merrimack, he averaged 2.6 blocks per game.

As excited as the Wahoos and their fans were to get Minor, the addition of Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde on Tuesday was every bit as meaningful.

A high-upside commitment for the Wahoos, Rohde played just one year at St. Thomas in Minnesota, winning Summit League freshman of the year while averaging 17.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. At 6-foot-6, he can play as a ball handler and an off-ball guard, versatility that has been very helpful to the Hoos in the past.

Rohde had an incredible rookie season, and with three years of eligibility remaining he has a chance to become an All-ACC caliber player at Virginia. Rohde brings pure scoring ability to Charlottesville, having put up 20+ points some 12 times this season, including each of his final five games. On paper, his 3-point shooting seems rather pedestrian at 32 percent, but he improved as the season went along and certainly has plenty of upside as a shooter. Not just a scorer, Rohde also did a great job distributing to his teammates, making plenty of highlight reel passes; at St. Thomas he had 10 games with at least five assists. Rohde flashed defensive ability and athleticism too, which should pay off in his UVa career.

While both Minor and Rohde were extremely productive at their previous stops, it is worth noting that the jump up to the ACC will be significant. Both players were on teams that recently transitioned into Division I and they’ll each have to adjust to playing high-level teams on a game-by-game basis.

However, both players did have good games against top competition. At St. Thomas, Rohde scored 15 points in his first collegiate game against Creighton. He went on to score 16 against Utah, had 22 points and nine assists against Montana State, an NCAA Tournament team, and then scored 48 points in two games against Summit League champion and NCAA Tournament participant Oral Roberts. At Merrimack, Minor scored 19 against St. John’s, had 25 points and 10 boards against America East champ Vermont, and had 15+ in all three games against Fairleigh Dickinson. And in the 2021-22 season, he scored 14 against Virginia Tech, 13 against Indiana and 17 against then No. 5 Gonzaga. So there’s plenty of hope that both players will be able to get it done at the ACC level.

With Rodhe and Minor in the fold, attention turns to Beekman’s NBA decision. UVa now has enough redundancy at the guard spots, particularly with Rohde’s ball-handling, to survive a Beekman departure. Still, if the rising senior decides to return, it would certainly change the outlook for the 2023-24 team. If he doesn’t, then UVa will be even more reliant on the transfers as well as improvements from the team’s three remaining freshmen, and the emergence of mid-year transfer guard Dante Harris, who sat out after joining the program from Georgetown in January.

So where do the Hoos go next? Class of 2023 guard Blue Cain was on Grounds last weekend, taking an official to Virginia following his senior season at IMG Academy. Having been released from his LOI at Georgia Tech after Josh Pastner’s dismissal, UVa may be an intriguing option for Cain though the backcourt is getting awfully full, especially if Beekman returns. He’s also taken visits to Georgia, Florida and others.

Four-star target Jarin Stevenson, No. 24 overall in 2024, was on Grounds recently too. And while there has been talk of him reclassifying, history tells us that can be a complicated process and is far from a certainty.

Virginia could opt for another transfer and have spots open whether Beekman returns or not. As of now, Minor and incoming freshman Blake Buchanan are the only true bigs on the roster. And as far as Buchanan is concerned, it’s worth noting that freshman big men rarely play significant roles under Bennett, though Buchanan may have to play more by default. Ryan Dunn can play at the 4 or maybe even at the 5, but he’s certainly more of a wing than a prototypical forward. So the Hoos could look to add another forward to the roster from the portal, even if it’s simply for depth. Because as of now, UVa is a few fouls or an injury away from having to go with a very small lineup.